London (CNN) - The parents of a 17-year-old girl will spend
at least 25 years in a British prison for the death of their daughter after the
couple's conviction Friday for killing her over her desire to live a Westernized
lifestyle and become an attorney, a court spokeswoman said Friday.
Chester Crown Court Judge
Roderick Evans sentenced Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed to life in prison. He said
the couple, who were originally from Pakistan, must be imprisoned for at least
25 years before being eligible for parole.
The sentence came hours after the
court found them guilty of murder in the death of Shafilea Ahmed. The girl's
dismembered body was found on a riverbank in February 2004, months after she
disappeared in 2003.
The death was the final act in a
long-running effort by the couple to get their daughter to conform to their
beliefs, Detective Superintendent Geraint Jones told reporters.
"When this failed, they murdered
her, a vile and disgraceful act," he said.
In sentencing the couple, Evans
said they had used "intimidation, bullying and ... physical violence" in an
effort to force her to adopt ways they viewed as more culturally
appropriate.
"Your problem was that, in what
you referred to as your 'community,' Shafilea's conduct was bringing shame upon
you and your concern about being shamed in your community was greater than your
love of your child," Evans told the couple, according to a transcript provided
by court officials. "In order to rid yourselves of that problem, you killed
Shafilea by suffocating her in the presence of your other four children."
Melissa Powner, a friend of the
slain girl, told reporters the conviction "brought our friend the justice she
deserves."
"If there is one thing that we
pray will come from this, it is that her beautiful face and tragic story will
inspire others to seek help and make them realize that this kind of vile
treatment, no matter what culture or background they are from, is not acceptable
and there is a way out," Powner said in a statement to reporters.
The conviction and sentencing
came just days after the girl's mother changed her long-standing denials and
testified Monday that she had seen her husband attack their daughter on the
night Shafilea died. Iftikhar Ahmed has denied killing his daughter.
Read more: Father denies killing daughter in UK 'honor murder'
case
On Monday, Farzana Ahmed
testified that she had tried to intervene to protect the girl, but her husband
pushed her away and punched her, according to CNN affiliate ITV. She said she
was "extremely scared" when she fled the room and stayed in a bedroom with other
children until she heard a car leaving 20 minutes later.
When her husband returned alone,
she said, she asked where her daughter was.
"If you care for your dear life
and that of your children, don't ever ask me this question again," he told her,
ITV reported.
Farzana Ahmed testified Monday
that only one of their children, Mevish, was present when she saw her husband
attacking Shafilea.
Another of the couple's
children, Alesha, testified last month that she saw her parents kill her
sister.
Alesha said her parents were
angry that Shafilea was wearing a short-sleeved, V-neck top, and no sweater, on
the night she was killed.
"Just end it here," Farzana said
to Iftikhar, according to their daughter.
They pushed Shafilea onto a sofa
and suffocated the struggling girl, Alesha testified.
Prosecutor Andrew Edis called it
"an act of suffocation by both parents acting together."
Police will review evidence that
came out during trial and could decide to seek additional charges, Detective
Chief Inspector Chris Ankers said.
"It's clear that there are a lot
of things in play here," he said.
Prosecutor Helen Morris used the
verdict as an opportunity to urge others who may be suffering or fearful of
similar violence and abuse to come forward and "put your faith in the criminal
justice system."
So-called honor killings, in
which members of a family kill relatives because of behavior that they say
shames the family, claim about 5,000 lives a year around the world, according to
the United Nations Population Fund.
In England, the Crown
Prosecution Service handled 234 crimes involving alleged "honor violence" in
2011. About half resulted in convictions.
